The Phantom Part 2
Rating: T [kinda violent]
Pairings: None
Ages: [After YJ Season 2 Finale] Danny: 15
Summary: A squad from the Team goes out to check on a distress signal from Colorado. They meet another slightly more evil half-ghost. Three guesses who it is.
Extra Notes: A piece requested by PokeKing Charizard.
"So what is it exactly?" Nightwing asked.
Batman didn't reply immediately and instead clicked a couple other buttons on the monitor first, allowing other diagrams to pop up. "Some sort of distress signal. It seems to belong to a research facility under an estate of some kind."
"So another Cadmus?" Nightwing asked, a dark look on his face.
"Maybe. Here are the coordinates. Inform Aqualad and assign a squad to check it out," Batman instructed.
"You've got it." The younger bat turned and walked off as Batman turned off the monitor.
zz
"How'd you do that, ese?" Jaime asked in shock as a character avatar in a game grew ten times its normal size.
"That is so crash," Bart laughed out.
Danny chuckled lightly as the three teens managed to beat the third boss on DOOM. "It's a trick Sam taught me once."
Jaime frowned a little, noticing Danny's attempt to not be sad.
"Team." Everyone in their wing of the Watchtower paused in the middle of what they were doing when Aqualad and then Nightwing walked in. "We've got a small assignment. I need M'gann, Blue Beetle, Robin, Phantom and Beast Boy."
"Awww man, so not feeling the mode," Bart whined, while Jaime stood up and let the blue armor cover his body.
"I wonder what's up," Danny murmured and transformed, floating closer to where the named members had gathered.
The seven heroes moved down the hallway as Nightwing informed them, as he had with Aqualad, about the distress call. "The coordinates are from an out of the way place in Colorado-"
Danny paused in his floating down the hall. Colorado?
"You alright, Danny?" Beast Boy asked, being the first to notice Danny had stopped. Danny looked up and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah… It's just… Someone I know had a place in Colorado."
"Who?" Nightwing asked, getting suspicious of where this was leading.
"Vlad Plasmius, my arch-enemy. I wouldn't put it past him to send out a fake signal…" Danny huffed slightly as a troubled look came to his face. "He probably figured out I survived the disaster and thinks I feel… isolated."
M'gann face changed slightly and she nodded. "He likes to play with your mind a lot, doesn't he?"
Danny locked eyes with the martian; he'd discovered that it was nearly impossible to hide anything from her. It probably had something to do with his slight lack of emotional focus, since he obsession had gone up in smoke. "Yeah. He rarely actually likes to fight. It's always other aspects of his plans you have to look out for. He thinks so far in advance it's scary and he has plans for nearly every failure too, so it's almost as if he never truly fails."
Aqualad nodded. "Understood. Then you all need to be on alert. Plasmius is a dangerous criminal. Hopefully we'll be able to find enough evidence to convict him like Luthor. It's hard to find enough proof that he did the things he did without jeopardizing Danny's dual identity as well."
Danny frowned and looked away. "I still don't understand it though. You're willing to play a dangerous game with a fruit loop like him, just for my comfort? It doesn't feel right."
"It's what we do, ese." Jaime placed a hand on Danny's shoulder.
"Yeah! If we've learned anything, it that a full blown assault isn't always the best way to find justice," Beast Boy explained, giving a large grin.
"He'll make a mistake eventually in human form and then we can arrest him and hold him properly, without the public knowing every little detail about how he's held for his sentence. They don't have to know for now if we have the need to hold Vlad Masters in a ghost-proof cell or not," Robin explained.
"Yeah, I guess," Danny replied and gave a half-smile.
"Alright. Be careful and be vigilant," Aqualad commanded as the team of five ran into M'gann's bio ship, their faces set in determination.
zz
"You know I've seen this kind of horror movie before. There's either going to be a blobby monster or something that can take on our appearance as a doppelgänger…" Beast Boy whined slightly.
The five team members had found themselves in none-other than Vlad's old estate in Colorado. The facility underneath was cold and dark and Danny couldn't help but shiver, remembering the pain of being almost forced to transform. He couldn't help but think of Danielle.
"Brings back memories, doesn't it, little badger?"
Everyone froze, looking around for the source of the voice, before Vlad himself appeared at the other end of the room in ghost form.
"Vlad." Danny tensed his body with his friends as Vlad simply laughed.
"Yes, I know my name, my boy. Do you always have a need to state the obvious?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Well, it is one of my homes."
"Stop beating around the bush and answer the real question," Robin snapped. Vlad got a peculiar look on his face as though severely annoyed that the boy had interrupted his and Daniel's banter.
"And why would I do that, Mr. Drake?"
M'gann froze and Blue Beetle and Beast Boy didn't seem to know what to think or do at hearing an actual name.
Tim's face tried valiantly to no reveal the shock, anger, and hint of fear he was feeling.
"Timothy, you really shouldn't interrupt a conversation. It's quite impolite after all."
Tim realized there was no way to divert or make Vlad question the conclusions he'd somehow drawn about his true identity. "How'd you know?"
"Hmmm… Perhaps I understand the feeling of switching between two very different personas, not many villains bother with a second front you know. You don't see the Joker running around without his ridiculous make-up on. Or perhaps I'm a ghost," Vlad pulled his arms out from behind his back, "And ghosts have a very interesting way of learning about all kinds of things-"
Danny realized, only from knowing Vlad for so long and having fought him countless times, that he was about to do something terrible. Danny's eyes turned blue and he tried to tap into his ghost sense at its highest potential. He had to stop the movement in a split second though, seeing the minuscule blue wisp flutter and nearly point to a place behind Beast Boy.
"RAAAAAGH!" Danny screamed and slammed full force into an invisible duplicate that Vlad had made and tried to use in its human form to minimize damage and unlock the Specter Deflector that Beast Boy and the other team members were wearing. "You won't touch them, Plasmius! Those Deflector are more than powerful enough to knock out a Zone Behemoth!"
The Vlad under him merely chuckled. "Perhaps they are, but you my dear boy are far too predictable." Before he could even respond, Vlad jammed something into his side. He got only a fraction of a second to recognize the cold steel and feeling of familiar prongs before his body was alight with pain. Black filled his vision for a few moments and then he was flying or floating and he couldn't seem to breathe. "So, now that your powers are a mute point for twelve hours, let's all talk."
Danny moved a bit as his vision started to clear and he realized he was being held by the throat above his teammates, in human form, and Vlad had recombined with his duplicate.
"Let him go!" M'gann snapped, keeping her worry expertly hidden behind gritted teeth. Beast Boy seemed to be frozen in some kind of shock, Blue Beetle was growling and aiming his cannons at Vlad and Danny both, ecto-energy swirling and ready to fire, and Robin was tense but silent, probably trying to think of a strategy or plan of action.
"I don't think so." Vlad then looked at Danny, red pupil-less orbs locking with baby-blue. "I'm going to ask you again, little badger. Now that everything you loved is gone, now that you truly know what isolation feels like, now that you know the world still hates you for what you are and seeks your bloody and gruesome destruction, will you join me to put these mortals in their place?" Danny tried a bit harder to pull at the powerful fingers gripping his throat.
"Never. Even if I was alone. I'd never join you."
Vlad let out a sigh and truly seemed sad. "Right of course, these Justice League people or whatever have given you a false sense of belonging and security. I suppose I need to rectify that. They can't protect you like I can and I'll prove it." Vlad then faced Danny's teammates. "Take off your Specter Deflectors-"
"Why do you think we'd do that!?" Beast Boy growled out.
Vlad groaned in annoyance. "Take them off-" He rose his second arm, positioning a ball of magenta light right in front of Danny's nose. "Or he dies, completely this time."
Danny's eyes widened at the understanding that shot through him. The others looked desperately at each other, trying to figure out what to do. A familiar feeling of uselessness coursed through the younger half-ghost and then the powerful urge of desperation to stop what was going to possibly happen came after. "Don't do it! He'll overshadow you and then the rest of the League will be-MMmpphh." Danny didn't get to finished before the magenta light faded and a gloved hand smothered his mouth.
"I would be quiet little badger. I'm only trying to help you…" Vlad whispered harshly, tightening his grip on Danny's throat, making the young hero choke slightly.
What do we do what do we do!? Beast Boy screamed mentally.
M'gann focused, trying to connect with Danny's mind, but stumbled when she came upon another. Now, now my dear. I wouldn't want you coming up with something, would I?
She immediately cut off the connection, and the team members stared at Vlad as Danny continued to struggle and kick his legs. "Daniel has enormous potential, but he has not trained with his ghost powers like I have. Telekinesis and Telepathy are advanced skills ghosts can learn… I'm afraid Daniel's not available at the moment. I can take a message though…"
"MMPhmMhPPH!" Danny shouted and landed a weak kick against Vlad's gut. The man merely tsked.
The other members exchanged a silent look. They couldn't just let Vlad kill their friend… but…
Danny saw them hesitate and he saw Jaime look back over his shoulder as though mentally arguing with the scarab about their choice. He couldn't let them do this. It was just what Vlad wanted and there was no need for them to take that huge risk… for him. Danny let go with just one hand and reached to his belt. He pulled the lipstick blaster from his own pathetic attempt at a Fenton utility belt of sorts and shot Vlad right in the eye.
Vlad cried out in fury and pain, dropping Danny to the hard floor to put both hands over his face. The others immediately acted, M'gann flew forward and made a psychic shield of sorts to try and reflect energy attacks, Blue Beetle started firing at Vlad with ecto-blasts from his cannon, and when Vlad was struck a couple of times and then focused enough to dodge some of the blasts from Blue Beetle, Robin threw an Nth-metal bird-a-rang, striking the side of Vlad's head.
Beast Boy was checking over Danny for injuries. "Are you okay, dude?"
Danny coughed a couple times, "Yeah I'm fine just stop Vlad!"
At the same time, Blue Beetle had managed to pin Vlad with ecto-staples against a wall. Robin then tossed a couple of ecto-rangs, which, unlike the Nth metal, sent out an ecto-static charge. The blades of the weapons sunk into the wall on either side of Vlad and discharged their green fields, making Vlad scream out in pain. Once they were done, it looked as though the man would faint and change back at any moment.
"Hurry, those staples won't keep him from phasing backwards through the wall," Robin spoke to everyone hurriedly. M'gann stretched out her arms, ready to wrap Vlad up in whips that would shock him, thanks to the Deflector, but the man looked up and then sunk through the wall.
"Next time then, Daniel, Megan, Garfield, Jaime, Tim…" And he was gone.
Blue Beetle seemed completely freaked out and Beast Boy was trying to still his trembling hands. All of Garfield's his hair was standing on in, ghosts seemed to completely paralyze him sometimes. Animal instincts perhaps? Who knew.
"How did he know all about us?" Jaime asked, letting his armor reveal only his head so he could face his friends better.
"I honestly have no idea…" Robin sighed.
"It's just a part of his game. It's a back and forth of leverage and one-upping the other. It's trying to predict fifty moves in advance instead of two or ten…" Danny rambled.
"It's a game of chess…" Robin murmured in realization.
Danny let his eyes droop as he continued to stare at the floor. "It's chess, Daniel. Of course you don't understand. But then, you never really did." He repeated the words almost needlessly.
zz
"He knows our identities." Batman stated more than asked. He, Nightwing and Robin were off to the side as the other members of the Team and the League talked with the returning teens. Everyone in the Watchtower was agitated or flustered, but tried to hide it behind steeled faces and furrowed brows.
"He never actually mentioned your name or Nightwing's."
"Yeah, but it wouldn't be hard to figure it out from there…" Nightwing mused. "And he knew everyone else's name on your squad."
Robin let out a semi-defeated sigh. "Yeah. I just knew he wasn't bluffing too."
"And he threatened Daniel's life and asked you to take off your Deflectors?" Batman asked without emotion.
"Yes. He seems to want Danny as his apprentice, but at the same time you can't quite tell how willing he'd be to simply kill him flat out."
The bats heard raised voices and looked up.
"Don't ever do that again! I just can't believe-"
"Hey! We were just worried about you! We didn't want to see your head get vaporized!" Blue Beetle shouted. He and Beast Boy seemed agitated at something Danny had been saying and while some were indirectly trying to stop the fight, like Bart and M'gann as well as Wonder Woman and Aqualad, the others were watching more closely, assessing what to do.
"Don't you get it though!? He would've overshadowed you guys and then come here to overshadow more people or flat out kill you all!" Danny yelled back, not intimidated by Jaime's extra height over him.
"We had the idea that was what he was up to, but we were kinda in a corner, dude!" Beast Boy expressed. "Just like Jaime said, he was pointing an orb of energy at your face!"
Danny grit his teeth before his voice finally rose, echoing a bit with a held back ghostly wail. "I'm not worth all that! I'm not worth rocking the boat for! And I can't watch another group of people get wiped out because I made a stupid mistake! I can't handle it again!" Danny then turned and bolted down one of the metal hallways.
Jaime and Gar relaxed a bit, realizing their friend wasn't just being irritable and annoying, but was truly distressed.
"He's still bearing too much pain within him," J'onn droned.
"I need to go talk to him," Canary spoke. M'gann was standing next to her.
"He can't escape the tower unless he uses the zeta-portal. He'll still be without his powers for another six hours."
Canary nodded and walked forward, but not before looking at the sad Jaime and Gar. "Don't worry you two. Danny doesn't seem to be capable of holding grudges. You know him."
Jaime nodded and Gar smiled half-heartedly.
zz
She found him staring out a window at the stars. "Hey there."
Danny didn't look at her when he responded. "I feel so empty… It's like I'm a shell or a robot." He paused. "No offense to Red Tornado…"
Canary smiled a bit a Danny's concern but continued to listen before replying to him. "Being without your powers?"
"They were my power…"
Ah. Now she understood a bit better. He was still suffering from the absence of his obsession, from the absence of his family and old friends. "I'm sorry, Danny. Do you want to talk about it more? I just want to help."
Danny let out a sigh and then smiled. "I know. You remind me almost too much of Jazz when you talk to me. It hurts, but I can't just avoid you or something."
"Well you're not wrong…" Canary smirked and Danny chuckled before becoming more solemn again.
"I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I can't heal because a ghost without his obsession is aimless and sometimes mindless. I don't want to go insane, but I'm scared that's what's going to happen. You'll have to lock me away before I hurt someone without being aware of it…"
"We've talked about that before… We're trying to help you forge a new obsession and I've seen you interact with the others. You care deeply about them."
Danny nodded. "Yeah. I really do feel like you all could help fill that gapping hole or at the very least keep the broken pieces from completely separating from each other. Glue if you want." Then he turned to face her, his eyes intense. "Regardless of if you guys can actually become my new obsession and I survive the strain of that change or you remain my glue forever…" He paused, trembling a bit. "If I loose you guys… I don't think I could come back from that. That's why I freaked out when they were even thinking of risking everyone just for me…"
Canary frowned. "Do you not care about your well-being at all? I understand that we all as heroes tend to put others in front of ourselves, but there are times to think about ourselves too."
Danny's gaze darkened. "I don't deserve that. You're trying to save a monster and terrible thing that the world would be better off without now that…" He swallowed. "Now that I failed to help them, to save them. You're all trying to save a ticking-time bomb."
Canary looked into his stormy and trouble eyes. "Please tell me Danny." She thought she saw something close to tears try to form in Danny's eyes before they seemed to melt away. It was like he refused to let himself have that luxury.
"He's inevitable… That's what he told me. My future is set in stone. I can't change his fate or mine. Vlad, me, you all… it's just all going to come together eventually. Maybe it wasn't today that things fell into the right places and maybe not tomorrow… But one day it will."
And then my promise will be broken.
After writing both The Phantom and now The Phantom Part 2, I realized that if you're wanting a super depressing ending to these particular parts, you could branch off from here and consider one time line to end with the events that occurred in The End (One of the earlier pieces in my collection here). Super depressing am I right? Danny eventually does become Dark Phantom and destroys everyone! Sniffles.
A last little note: Blue Beetle can use ecto-energy because the scarab was able to adapt and absorb to the technology the League started to make from the Fentons' previous work.